EPW Blog

Bipartisan Letter Expresses Concern with EPA Overreach

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, took the lead on a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson expressing concern that EPA is expanding its definition of diesel fuels in its draft permitting guidance for oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing activities in an effort to gain more federal control over the hydraulic fracturing process. Senators joining Inhofe on the letter include Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia).

Inhofe Applauds House Passage of “Stop the War on Coal Act”

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, welcomed the passage today in the House of Representatives of the "Stop the War on Coal Act." The bill was approved by a bipartisan vote of 233-175.

Fighting off the war on coal

Politico Fighting off the war on coal By Rep. Fred Upton and Sen. Jim Inhofe "When the work underground stops," a TV reporter in Boone County, W.Va., said last Friday, "everything above pays the price." She was reporting that two local coal mines would soon start laying off workers. One was preparing to lay off 116 miners in a matter of weeks, the second had yet to finalize the number to be let go.

Inhofe and Pryor Introduce Bill to Exempt Farmers from SPCC Rule

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), this week introduced S. 3559, a bill that would amend the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule and ease the regulatory compliance for farms. Companion legislation, HR 3158, recently passed in the House without a single objection.

Inhofe Opening Statement: Hearing on Water Resources Development Act

Opening Statement of Senator James M. Inhofe Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Full Committee hearing entitled, "Water Resources Development Act: Growing the Economy and Protecting Public Safety." Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:00 AM Thank you, Madam Chairman, for holding this hearing. I also would like to thank our witnesses for testifying before us this morning.

Inhofe Applauds EPA’s Delay in Timeline for Proposing Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today applauded the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move back the timeline for proposing "Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule" (LRRP) for the exterior of commercial buildings until July 1, 2015, giving the agency enough time to collect more data and ensure that it has a clear understanding of how commercial and public buildings are renovated and repaired or where potential lead hazards may occur. On April 15, 2011, Senator Inhofe along with nine other Republicans expressed concerns with EPA on proposing LRRP for commercial buildings due to the scarcity of data EPA had collected, explaining that without a full understanding of potential lead hazards in public and commercial buildings the health benefits of the rule could not be realized.

Oversight Hearing, NRC’s Implementation of Recommendations for Enhancing Nuke Reactor Safety in 21st

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:00 AM

Thank you, Chairman Boxer, for holding this hearing and focusing on implementing the lessons learned from Fukushima. The efforts will ensure that the safety of nuclear plants in the U.S., and around the world, will be enhanced and the use of nuclear energy will be sustained over the long term.

Solyndra and Armendariz: Two of Obamas Major Energy Blunders Back in the Spotlight

Link to Press Release Washington, D.C. – Today two of President Obama’s biggest blunders came back to haunt him: Solyndra and Armendariz. Ironically, today marks the one year anniversary of the complete collapse of Solyndra, and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz, who made himself famous by declaring on video that EPA’s “general philosophy” was to “crucify” and “make examples” of American energy producers, held a Twitter town hall meeting to tout the Sierra Club’s efforts to end coal production in America and promote President Obama’s efforts to pour even more taxpayer dollars into companies like Solyndra.

Court Strikes Down Obama-EPA’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule as an Illegal, Flawed Regulation

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, commented on today's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that the Obama-EPA exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act in crafting its Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

Court Decision on E15 Waiver a Huge Loss for American Consumers

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, commented on today's ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Obama Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) E15 Waiver, under which EPA plans to permit higher-level blends of ethanol to be sold as conventional gasoline.

Reid hopes for carbon pricing bill if Dems keep Senate

LAS VEGAS -- Following a speech that many observers here saw as among the most forceful confrontations of climate change in recent memory by a high-ranking government official, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he hopes the Senate will take up a bill to put a price on carbon emissions if Democrats maintain control of the chamber next year.

Inhofe to Reid: Welcome Back to the Global Warming Debate

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, responded to Senator Harry Reid's statement today that due to the current heat, droughts, and other hot weather events, skeptics are "not just on the other side of the debate, they're on the other side of reality." Senator Reid (D-NV) follows Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) who took to the Senate floor last week to argue that current weather events are linked to manmade global warming.

Inhofe asks EPA to Withdraw Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, sent the following letter last night to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting that EPA withdraw its greenhouse gas regulations for power plants as the rules rely on several unprecedented and flawed interpretations of the Clean Air Act, which was never intended to regulate greenhouse gases or to be a tool to end coal in American electricity generation.

Inhofe Exposes Another Epic Fail by Global Warming Alarmists

Link to Think Progress Blog Post Link to Watts Up With That: Alarmist fact checking - street lights don't melt at 115°F Link to Press Release Washington, D.C. - Today the far-left blog Think Progress posted a photo (originally posted on KFOR's facebook page) of street lights in Oklahoma that had melted, they claimed, because of extreme heat. Global warming alarmist Bill McKibben took to Twitter immediately to publicize what he believed to be proof of global warming, tweeting to Senator James Inhofe (Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, "Senator Inhofe, God may be trying to get your attention. Check out this picture."

Congressional Democrats Introduce National Energy Tax

Link to Press Release Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, commented on the introduction of Representative Jim McDermott's carbon tax bill in the House today.

Full Committee hearing on Update on the Latest Climate Change Science and Local Adaptation Measures

Opening Statement of Senator James M. Inhofe Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Full Committee hearing entitled, "Update on the Latest Climate Change Science and Local Adaptation Measures." I must say it feels like we're back to the good old days. It may be hard to believe, but it was in February of 2009, during the height of the global warming alarmist movement, that this committee last held a hearing on global warming science. Back then we heard promises from the Obama administration of a clean energy revolution with green jobs propped up by billions in taxpayer dollars to companies like Solyndra.

Inhofe Asks EPA Not to Finalize PM NAAQS Until One Year After IG Investigation

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, sent the following letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explaining why EPA has a responsibility to reject a proposed settlement that would require finalization of the particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) before the end of the year. In the letter, Senator Inhofe says that EPA should wait to finalize any new NAAQS standards for a period of at least one year after the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports on its investigation into EPA's mismanagement of key advisory committees and scientific data. Critical EPA failures in these and other areas could have direct bearing on the science which underpins the proposed and upcoming revisions to the PM and ozone NAAQS.

Inhofe questions excessive cost of ‘greening’ military

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), in a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus requested a detailed report on the total cost of a recent event highlighting the U.S. Navy's great "Green Fleet" and expressed concern for the cost of "greening" the U.S. military at a time of drastic budget cuts.

Inhofe Applauds Committee Passage of North American Wetlands Conservation Act

Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today welcomed the approval in the EPW Committee of S. 2282 the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) reauthorization, which passed in today's Business Meeting in a voice vote with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senator Inhofe and Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) are sponsors of the bill.

Inhofe Opening Statement: Full Committee Business Meeting

Opening Statement of Senator James M. Inhofe Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Full Committee Business Meeting Wednesday, July 25, 2012 10:00 AM Today's agenda includes several bills that the committee has been working on and I expect to support most of them. However, I would like to take a few moments to explain my concerns on S. 847 the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 and then urge support of my colleagues on S. 2282 the North American Wetland Conservation Extension Act of 2012 (NAWCA).